Former world champions Anthony Joshua and Joseph Parker on Saturday re-established their heavyweight title credentials with victories on the same Riyadh bill.
British boxer Joshua produced one of his best performances of recent times by stopping Sweden’s Otto Wallin, who was pulled out by his corner after the fifth round of a one-sided bout.
Earlier, Parker enjoyed a unanimous points-decision win over fellow former world champion Deontay Wilder, with the New Zealander triumphing 118-111, 118-110, 120-108 in a dominant display that appeared to scupper prefight talk the American would next face Joshua.
Photo: Reuters
There had also been speculation that whoever triumphed in a Wilder-Joshua bout would face the winner of February’s clash between Tyson Fury and Oleksandr Usyk, who between them hold all the major versions of the world heavyweight title.
However, Joshua said he paid no attention to Wilder’s fight.
“I wasn’t watching. I just focused on myself... Deontay, everything that he said about me, I could rip him apart right now, but I’m going to take the higher ground,” he told DAZN.
The victory gave Joshua his third win of the year after he beat Jermaine Franklin Jr by unanimous decision in April before a seventh-round stoppage of Robert Helenius in August.
It also took the 34-year-old’s professional record to 27 wins and three defeats as he inflicted the first inside the distance loss of Wallin’s career.
Joshua is looking to become a three-time world champion following two defeats by Usyk and a shock 2019 loss to Andy Ruiz.
“Not so much a throwback fight, just another day in the office,” Joshua said. “You want to do whatever it takes to be victorious. That’s all I want to be.”
Wallin’s only previous professional loss had come against Fury, but he had no answer from the opening bell against Joshua, who with just more than a minute of the fifth round remaining produced a superb left hook that had Wallin stumbling toward the ropes.
Earlier Parker, comprehensively defeated Wilder in the former WBC champion’s first bout in more than two years.
“Everyone had other plans, but this is God’s plan,” said Parker, 31, who improved to 34-3 with 23 knockouts after sparring with Fury.
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